Graphic design plays an extremely crucial role in any business. Whether it is a consultancy firm, a healthcare provider, or an IT company, an organization that aims to hit their target market’s mind with a striking visual representation of their intended message must utilize graphic design to achieve such a feat more efficiently.
However, provisioning financial resources for this task is not always welcomed by budget-conscious business owners and marketers. The amount of money and time needed to find a skilled graphic designer can be really quite expensive, just considering the high demand for this line of work nowadays.
To alleviate the cost and time burden and remain competitive, most companies resort to some alternatives, such as outsourcing in graphic design agencies in countries like the Philippines. For the past decades, the Philippines has become a premier outsourcing destination for graphic design, as well as for other digital marketing aspects like SEO, web development, and social media marketing.
Thanks to the low-cost but quality graphic design services that Philippine-based agencies offer, businesses of all sizes around the world are now able to scale their graphic design efforts in a more cost-effective way.
That said, there is a lot of good outsourcing agencies in the Philippines, but there’s only a few who can provide you with the right capabilities and augmentations you need for your business. Read on as we detail in this infographic the top things to look out for when looking for a graphic design outsourcing agency in the Philippines.
1. Design Portfolio of Copy Work
The first and most important thing to look out for when vetting graphic design agencies in the Philippines is their design portfolio of copy examples including the web, online ads, social posts, newsletters, and other digital assets.
The right graphic design agency in the Philippines should be able to interpret your written copy into powerful, convincing visual aesthetics. Their portfolio should show you as such, but it is also important that provide them with a specific requirement.
For instance, you can request examples of graphic design work similar to your business or industry, or to the campaign that you would like to kick-off such as online banner ads or content marketing through Infographics. This way, you will be able to gauge their capabilities of managing your graphic design project.
2. Size and Experience of the Team
Once you get an in-depth insight into the agency’s technical capabilities, you must then identify the size of their team so that you can gauge if they have enough people to handle your project.
This is especially crucial if the project at hand is quite big and complex, such as building an e-commerce website or running a full blast online advertising campaign. In such cases, the larger the team that the agency has, the more diverse and insightful the ideas you will get.
However, there are instances where the experience matters more than the number of people involved. In order to ensure that your objectives for the final design output will be represented visually effectively, your chosen agency should have the right people with enough experience to create a real impact on your project.
3. Location
Another important, but an often overlooked factor to consider when outsourcing graphic design projects in the Philippines is the location of the agency.
Many companies abroad do not know this, but many so-called Philippine-based design agencies do not have an actual physical location for their team, but instead only keeps their workforce intact through email and other communication platforms.
While remote working is indeed a popular employment set-up these days, it is not the ideal choice if you will be outsourcing to a foreign agency. If the agency fails to manage their remote workers, then the timeline of your project will be compromised, and the confidential information about your project that the agency has relayed to their remote workers might get exposed.
Aside from having a physical hub for their graphic designers, it’s also important to know if their office is inducive enough for any creative work. If their workplace has a welcoming atmosphere where creativity thrives, and collaboration is encouraged, it is a sign that you are working with a reliable agency.
4. Non-Disclosure Agreement
In relation to the previous point, a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) can be very useful not only for the protection of your business but also in proving the reliability and trustworthiness of the agency you are looking to partner with. If you will be sharing valuable information with the agency and want to ensure that they will not steal or use that information without your approval, then requiring them to sign an NDA is a must.
Most companies that outsource their graphic design projects use a non-mutual NDA, which is the type to use when only the client will be sharing confidential information with the graphic design agency. Keep in mind, though, that NDA is a contract, which means that the graphic design agency can negotiate and request changes if they find that some parts of it are outside of their interest.
5. Quotation
The last, but certainly not the least important factor to look for when outsourcing your graphic design projects in the Philippines is the agency’s quotation for their services.
The cost of outsourcing graphic design in the Philippines can vary depending on the size and nature of the project. In our research, the cost of a simple brand logo project with in-depth study of the business starts around US$60 – exclusive of revisions, while a decent website design can cost around US$600 to US$1,000, which, depending on the agency, can already include revisions, cross-device compatibility, and on-page SEO.
Regardless of your budget, it’s crucial that you avoid transacting with an agency that cannot provide you with a clear list of tasks and deliverables that you will get for your money, and that cannot give you the exact costs for any additional work that might occur.
Outsourcing your Graphic Design projects to the Philippines may be one of the best decisions that could give your company the competitive advantage it needs at significantly less-expensive circumstances. However, it would always be ideal to choose the right agency well before you even think of starting to partner with them – and you can do so by following these tips.
Jomer B. Gregorio is a well-rounded expert when it comes digital marketing. Jomer is also known as a semantic SEO evangelist and practitioner. Check out our Digital Marketing Services today and let us help you in achieving positive and profitable results for your business.